For me, this day always begins with remembrance. Nostalgic thoughts of Bobby, the dude he was and the man he might have become. Also, giving personal thanks that the damage wasn't any more extensive. Finally, a thoughts for all those folks out there who are in sync with my way of thinking.
Hopped on my bike and got myself over to a bike trailhead I'd spotted a few days before. Strolled around 10 km to Foiano through the gorgeous Tuscan countryside, surrounded by sunflower fields, peach groves and vineyards. I mean really, does it get any better? Actually, yes it does. It gets to be pretty great when an Italian farmer hits on me and the only way to get rid of him is by making a date for a bike ride the next day. NOT!!
On my trek back, I caught sight of teams of pickers harvesting peaches using large crane-like vehicles. As I stood aside for one of them to pass, a farmer made a show of bowing down to offer his queen a peach. Ahemmm, that be me. So cute! Now this wasn't any old peach. Here was a prize-winning, massivo, uber-juicy, tangy but not too sharp, sweet, ripe peach wrapped in the kind of colour you'd only normally find in a Cezanne still life. Wow...I'm not kidding. Wow.
Once my bike and I were reunited, I began pedalling along the country roads toward home. Imagine my surprise when I crept to a stop for a full 5 minutes at an intersection in the middle of God's country as a cluster of 80 or so cyclists cut across my path. They owned the entire road, indiffent to the trail of a dozen cars behind them looking for a way to pass. Battitude in numbers is my guess. Oh, one more thing. These riders were decked out in the funkiest high fashion cycling finery euros could buy. Lest we forget, we are in Italia after all! My Dutch-style clunker and hiking gear would never even have come close to cutting it.
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